§176. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology

(a)(1) There is in the Department of Defense an Institute to be known as the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "Institute"), which has the responsibilities, functions, authority, and relationships set forth in this section. The Institute shall be a joint entity of the three military departments, subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense.

(2) The Institute shall consist of a Board of Governors, a Director, two Deputy Directors, and a staff of such professional, technical, and clerical personnel as may be required.

(3) The Board of Governors shall consist of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, who shall serve as chairman of the Board of Governors, the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Health, the Surgeons General of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and a former Director of the Institute, as designated by the Secretary of Defense, or the designee of any of the foregoing.

(4) The Director and the Deputy Directors shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense.

(b)(1) In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Institute is authorized to-

(A) contract with the American Registry of Pathology (established under section 177 of this title) for cooperative enterprises in medical research, consultation, and education between the Institute and the civilian medical profession under such conditions as may be agreed upon between the Board of Governors and the American Registry of Pathology;

(B) make available at no cost to the American Registry of Pathology such space, facilities, equipment, and support services within the Institute as the Board of Governors deems necessary for the accomplishment of their mutual cooperative enterprises; and

(C) contract with the American Registry of Pathology for the services of such professional, technical, or clerical personnel as are necessary to fulfill their cooperative enterprises.

(2) No contract may be entered into under paragraph (1) which obligates the Institute to make outlays in advance of the enactment of budget authority for such outlays.

(c) The Director is authorized, with the approval of the Board of Governors, to enter into agreements with the American Registry of Pathology for the services at any time of not more than six distinguished pathologists or scientists of demonstrated ability and experience for the purpose of enhancing the activities of the Institute in education, consultation, and research. Such pathologists or scientists may be appointed by the Director to administrative positions within the components or subcomponents of the Institute and may be authorized by the Director to exercise any or all professional duties within the Institute, notwithstanding any other provision of law. The Secretary of Defense, on a case-by-case basis, may waive the limitation on the number of distinguished pathologists or scientists with whom agreements may be entered into under this subsection if the Secretary determines that such waiver is in the best interest of the Department of Defense.

(d) The Secretary of Defense shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to prescribe the organization, functions, and responsibilities of the Institute.

Amendments

1996-Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 104–106, §903(a), (f)(1), which directed amendment of subsec. (a)(3), eff. Jan. 31, 1997, by substituting "official in the Department of Defense with principal responsibility for health affairs" for "Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs" and "Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs" for "Chief Medical Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs", was repealed by Pub. L. 104–201.

1993-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–160 inserted at end "The Secretary of Defense, on a case-by-case basis, may waive the limitation on the number of distinguished pathologists or scientists with whom agreements may be entered into under this subsection if the Secretary determines that such waiver is in the best interest of the Department of Defense."

Establishment of Joint Pathology Center

"(1) The Secretary of Defense proposed to disestablish all elements of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, except the National Medical Museum and the Tissue Repository, as part of the recommendations of the Secretary for the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the 2005 round of defense base closure and realignment.

"(2) The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission altered, but did not reject, the proposal of the Secretary of Defense to disestablish the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

"(3) The Commission's recommendation that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology's 'capabilities not specified in this recommendation will be absorbed into other DOD, Federal, or civilian facilities' provides the flexibility to retain a Joint Pathology Center as a Department of Defense or Federal entity.

"(b) Sense of Congress.-It is the sense of Congress that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has provided important medical benefits to the Armed Forces and to the United States and that the Federal Government should retain a Joint Pathology Center.

"(c) Establishment.-

"(1) Establishment required.-The President shall establish and maintain a Joint Pathology Center that shall function as the reference center in pathology for the Federal Government.

"(2) Establishment within dod.-Except as provided in paragraph (3), the Joint Pathology Center shall be established in the Department of Defense, consistent with the final recommendations of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, as approved by the President.

"(3) Establishment in another department.-If the President makes a determination, within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 28, 2008], that the Joint Pathology Center cannot be established in the Department of Defense, the Joint Pathology Center shall be established as an element of a Federal agency other than the Department of Defense. The President shall incorporate the selection of such agency into the determination made under this paragraph.

Congressional Findings and Declaration

"(A) the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology offers unique pathologic support to national and international medicine;

"(B) the Institute contains the Nation's most comprehensive collection of pathologic specimens for study and a staff of prestigious pathologists engaged in consultation, education, and research;

"(C) the activities of the Institute are of unique and vital importance in support of the health care of the Armed Forces of the United States;

"(D) the activities of the Institute are also of unique and vital importance in support of the civilian health care system of the United States;

"(E) the Institute provides an important focus for the exchange of information between civilian and military medicine, to the benefit of both; and

"(F) it is important to the health of the American people and of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States that the Institute continue its activities in serving both the military and civilian sectors in education, consultation, and research in the medical, dental, and veterinary sciences.

"(2) The Congress further finds and declares that beneficial cooperative efforts between private individuals, professional societies, and other entities on the one hand and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology on the other can be carried out most effectively through the establishment of a private corporation."